A volunteers story: how to be a ‘jack of all trades’

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Hear from Village Hall volunteer, Doug Allan, as he reflects on his role as Trustee of Topcliffe & Asenby Village Hall.

My name is Doug Allan and I am 75 years of age. I am a Trustee of Topcliffe & Asenby Village Hall, which is located in Topcliffe near Thirsk. I have been on the Village Hall Committee for eleven years and I have no specific title but tend to be a general ‘dogs body’, organising a wide range of fundraising events and undertaking lots of tasks that help the hall run smoothly.

The Big Project

In 2014 the Village Hall Committee embarked upon an ambitious plan to extend and refurbish the premises. I was asked to join the committee in a co-opted capacity to lead on raising the huge amount of funding to enable the development to proceed. The total investment was over £140,000, most of which was grant-aided by a wide range of organisations and by local community fundraising.

Fundraising Success

The major refurbishment was completed in 2016 and by that time I had effectively been embedded in the committee and was persuaded to remain as a member. Over the years we have raised thousands for Village Hall funds by organising events including the annual Race Night (the one held in February this year raised £3,500), bringing bands to perform in the hall and lots, lots more.

Village Events

Being retired obviously means that I have the time to invest in helping and supporting the Village Hall, which I believe is an invaluable community hub. It is great to be a part of the committee and to ensure that the facility is available to villagers and people from further afield to organise a fantastic variety of activities, including our extremely successful Warm Hub lunches, bingo sessions, scouts/cubs/squirrels meetings, knit & natter sessions, boccia, art classes, weekly quiz, a wide range of Christmas activities and many private party hires.

Why volunteering matters

I have enjoyed volunteering within the community in which I live and socialise. Through the Village Hall I have made many new friends and have thoroughly enjoyed keeping busy and organising events for everyone to enjoy…whilst at the same time raising the much-needed funds that help secure the future viability of our community hub.

Find out more about Village Halls Week 2025 and how to become a volunteer.

Village Halls Week Photo Competition

To kickstart Village Halls Week 2025, Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE) will be launching a new book:  ‘Halls for All: A History of Village Halls’.

Written by Louise Beaton and David Clark, the book pays tribute to village hall volunteers and explores their history, evolution, and the future opportunities and challenges these important buildings face.

Win your own copy by entering our photo competition

As part of our Village Halls Week 2025 celebrations (17-23 March), we’re offering you a chance to win a copy of ‘Halls for All: A History of Village Halls’.

This year’s campaign theme is all about celebrating village hall volunteers, and we’d love to see your  volunteers in action. Send us your best photos showcasing the incredible people who keep these vital community spaces running – whether they’re setting up for an event, maintaining the hall, or bringing people together. There are five copies up for grabs, and the winning entries will be selected by Community First Yorkshire judges.

The competition runs from 17 March to 28 March 2025 so get snapping and celebrate the volunteers who make a difference!

Terms and conditions:

  • Please email photos to marcomms@communityfirstyorkshire.org.uk
  • Please supply your name, surname and the Village Hall you represent
  • Images need to ideally be 2MB or more
  • Only 1 photo per entry
  • Please confirm you have consent from any people in the photograph (who can be recognised)
  • Community First Yorkshire have permission to use the imagery provided across their marketing channels.

Join the Scarborough Big Spring Clean on 28 and 29 March

Calling all Scarborough residents! Join North Yorkshire Council and partners for two days of community action to give Scarborough town centre a Big Spring Clean before the busy summer season. As part of an extensive programme of improvements to revitalise the centre of Scarborough, in addition to cleaning routinely carried out in the town, two community tidy up events have been planned for Friday 28 and Saturday 29 March.

The Big Spring Clean events will focus on litter picking, led by Keep Scarborough Tidy, as well as giving railings a fresh coat of paint and tidying up green spaces by weeding/pruning and planting flowers. You don’t need to bring anything as all equipment, drinks and lunch will be provided. Whether you can spare an hour, a full day or even both days, your help will make a huge difference!

Sign up here, where you’ll also find answers to questions you might have.

A campaign to boost pride in the town will launch early May in partnership with local businesses and community groups. Please email regeneration.north-east@northyorks.gov.uk if you have any questions.

Celebrating the unsung heroes of rural Yorkshire communities

Returning for its ninth year from 17 to 23 March, Village Halls Week 2025 is shining a spotlight on the dedicated volunteers who keep these vital community spaces thriving.

Halls across North, South and West Yorkshire will be taking part in the Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE) national campaign week. The week is a call to showcase the important work that hall volunteers do to support these local venues.

With over 80,000 volunteers supporting 10,000 village halls across England, these spaces provide essential services, host events, and bring communities together. This year’s theme is all about celebrating the passionate volunteers behind them, ensuring their efforts don’t go unnoticed and inspiring more people to get involved.

During the week-long celebration, charity and ACRE Network member, Community First Yorkshire is encouraging village halls to host events and share experiences and insights. A particular highlight will be the release of a celebratory poem recording on Tuesday, featuring village hall volunteers from across the country, coordinated by Community First Yorkshire. Volunteers from village halls such as Danby Wiske, Great Habton, Hovingham and Hellifield in Yorkshire make an appearance.

“This week is about recognising the incredible contributions of volunteers who work tirelessly behind the scenes in our village halls,” said Jane Colthup, Chief Executive at Community First Yorkshire. “Offering vital skills in a variety of roles from gardeners and finance managers to DIY-ers and all-round-odd jobbers, they are the driving force that keep these essential community hubs running and we want to celebrate and support them.”

Community First Yorkshire provides support and advice to village halls across North, South and West Yorkshire, including training, resources and bespoke one to one support. As the ACRE Network member for North, South and West Yorkshire, the charity advocates for rural issues across the region.

Village Halls Week takes place from Monday 17 to Sunday 23 March 2025.

Make a Difference Awards 2025

For a fourth year, BBC Radio York are celebrating and saying thank you to people and animals living in our towns and cities who make where we live a better place.

Every day they hear stories of people doing incredible things for each other and their communities. Now it’s time to recognise them for all their hard work.

Whether it’s caring for someone in need, being a brilliant neighbour, or inspiring children in the classroom, if you know someone who is really making a difference to your life or where you live, then you can nominate them for an Award.

There are 8 categories;

  • The Volunteer Award
  • The Young Hero (New to 2025)
  • The Great Neighbour Award
  • The Active Award  (New to 2025)
  • The Animal Award
  • The Green Award
  • The Fundraiser Award
  • The Community Group Award

 

You can nominate at bbc.co.uk/makeadifference, where you can also see the full Terms and Privacy Notice.

Nominations are now open and will close on the Monday 31 March 2025 at 5pm. The winners will be announced at the Make a Difference awards ceremony in September.

Follow #BBCMakeADifference on social media for more details.

Breakthrough Humber and North Yorkshire transformation programme update

Did you know that colleagues across Humber and North Yorkshire are collaborating on important workforce issues through the Breakthrough Humber and North Yorkshire transformation programme?

Through Breakthrough, the Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board are working together to improve attraction, recruitment, training and retention of the people they need in their health and care workforce, now and in the future.

Some ways you can get involved right now include:

  • Building system leadership skills is key to transforming Humber and North Yorkshire.  Take advantage of free, system-focused talent programmes, which are open for applications now. Find out more here.
  • Deep in NHS operational planning?  You may benefit from the People Story dashboard. It provides current baseline workforce numbers, system-wide population demographics and needs intelligence and can be explored by sector or by place. Currently, the dashboard is available only to colleagues with an NHS email address, but a fully accessible version is coming soon. In 2025/26 they’ll be developing it further to project their future multi-year workforce plan. View it here.
  • Apprenticeships Week: 3-9 February was National Apprenticeships week. What more can you do to champion apprentices in your area and spread the word about apprenticeships locally? Visit the Humber and North Yorkshire Careers Hub for more.

Plus, read more about this month’s update here.

Join ACRE as Head of Policy and Public Affairs

Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE) is looking for a new Head of Policy and Public Affairs to play a key role in shaping strategy and leading engagement – all whilst having a positive impact on rural communities in the region and beyond.

For the full breakdown of the role and to view the recruitment pack, click here.

Make sure to apply by 13 March.

Mayoral Challenge Funds

The Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, David Skaith, has launched a major new funding programme to boost the economy in the region with applications for three funds now live.

The Vibrant and Sustainable High Streets Fund was launched on 31 January and is offering high street partnerships funding to boost the resilience of the region’s high streets and attract visitors.

The Carbon Negative Challenge Fund was launched on 5 February for projects that demonstrate innovative ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and, in-turn, accelerate the region towards its ambition of achieving carbon-negative by 2040.

The Skills Innovation Fund was also launched on 5 February to support skills development across the region and tackle a number of challenges highlighted by stakeholders, including declining numbers of adults engaging in learning and the recruitment of tutors. The fund will help organisations to innovate in their delivery and build capacity in their workforce.

A fourth funding stream, the Business Innovation Fund, will launch in March, aiming to boost economic opportunity across York and North Yorkshire by attracting investment and supporting businesses in being more innovative, productive and resilient.

Click here for more information on the Mayoral Challenge Fund, and the four grant programmes.

VCSE Community Transport provision across Humber and North Yorkshire

A report, commissioned by Humber and North Yorkshire VCSE Collaborative, has been published to support a greater understanding of community transport provision across Humber and North Yorkshire.

Humber and Wolds Rural Action, Hambleton Community Action and East Yorkshire Community Transport, who provide community transport services, produced the report which highlights what services are being delivered, the capacity and demand on these services, and the opportunities for future growth and connectivity.

A key pressure highlighted in the report refers to previous changes in the prioritisation of criteria for patient transport. This has resulted in a notable increase in demand for community transport by patients who struggle to attend medical appointments due to lack of transport. Any changes in criteria for transport has an impact on community transport organisations, who people turn to for support.

As of 1 April 2025, there will be further changes to the national NHS England criteria to achieve a consistent approach. Due to this piece of work to map community transport across Humber and North Yorkshire, organisations will work alongside health colleagues to fully understand the impact.

‘Whilst all community transport groups are doing their best to meet demand, in some cases demand outstrips resource and there is a danger that people are turned away’.

As well as raising awareness of the pressures faced by Community Transport providers, the report also highlights the wider benefits services can provide for individuals and communities, stating:

‘There are without doubt added health benefits associated with the use of community transport (CT) for passengers, providing opportunities to interact socially and reducing social isolation. These wider benefits are linked to health by preventing ill health, reducing social isolation, promoting independent living, and keeping people active, all contributing to keeping them out of hospital and better able to reduce their demands for health services.’

As part of the report findings, a series of recommendations have been published which focus on integrated models of working, funding and sustainability, appointment scheduling, improving data collection, planning, communications between sectors, and partnership working across Humber and North Yorkshire.

The report is being shared across our Health and Care system, with health and Local Authority leaders as well as with community transport organisations in our region, and it is intended to provide a platform to build from and enable collaboration across sectors.

View the report here.

If you have any questions about the report, please email the VCSE Collaborative team: hnyicb.vcseteam@nhs.net

Free desktop audit now available!

Utility Aid is offering Community First Yorkshire members a free Desktop Audit on their latest energy bill!

Utility Aid is the UK’s leading energy broker for the charity and not-for-profit sector. As well as helping to secure new contracts with your Electric, Gas, and Water, Utility Aid can also help with supplier problems, inaccurate bills, advising on renewable energy options, and your journey to ‘Net Zero’.

If you need support navigating your invoices, feel you are being overcharged, or are unsure what it all means, Utility Aid is on hand today!

Contact partnerships@utility-aid.co.uk today to book your session, and be sure to submit a copy of your latest invoice.